Always By His Side
by Stelra Etnae
Summary: Brook has a short yet meaningful talk with the spirit of a young girl residing within Wado Ichimonji, and comes to understand their green-haired swordsman just a little bit more. Brook and Zoro Nakamaship


_**Brook and Kuina... A strange character combination, that's for sure. This idea struck me recently, and thus this short fic spawned. Hope that you like it!**_

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Yohohoho, how very fascinating.

Brook was finding that consuming the Yomi Yomi no Mi had rather interesting side effects along with returning his soul to his body. Having spent his days alone for such a very long time, he hadn't had the chance to witness these side benefits before. But now, welcomed to the crew by Luffy-san and the others, he had the luxury to look around and observe. And indeed, he observed some rather strange things.

When he first saw the young girl following the swordsman around, he had been perplexed at her presence in the dangerous Grand Line. He was surprised that the overprotective Zoro would allow her enter these perilous waters, let alone follow him around Thriller Bark.

It soon became apparent that no one else, not even Zoro, could see the girl.

Well then, the next step would be to discreetly investigate. So that course of action he endeavored to carry out, carefully choosing a time when the green-haired swordsman was taking one of his customary naps.

A reasonable distance away, the little girl sat looking thoughtfully at Zoro's newly acquired Shuusui.

"Ojou-san…" he sat down next to the girl, keeping his voice low as to not awaken the swordsman. "May I see your panties?"

She was initially surprised at his approach, but at the question she crossed her arms and gave him a cross, skeptical look. But he saw the faintest twitch in her mouth, telling him that she found his unconventional greeting rather amusing at least.

Encouraged, he smiled gently at the reaction. She reminded him of their swordsman, just a little. "What is your name?"

She opened finally opened her mouth to speak, and two voices came out. "Wado Ichimonji," one said. "Kuina," said the other. The two voices overlapped, yet it sounded natural, and he could strangely hear both clearly. An enigma indeed.

"And what connection might you have with our swordsman?" he gently prompted, curious.

"Sword." "Friend."

And then she looked at him with determined eyes. This time, the voices said the same thing. "We're here to protect him. To help him fulfill his dream." She looked at the three swords lying by Zoro's side. "The others want the same. Sandai Kitetsu, Yubashiri, and now Shuusui… But we have been with him the longest." She put a hand to where her heart should be beating, and looked up to meet Brook's gaze. "We are part of his dream."

Brook was touched. "I see…"

He wanted to say more, but a soft snort told him that Zoro had awoken. The girl turned away from him, moving closer to the green-haired man's sprawled form. A tender smile graced her face as she gently reached out to touch his hair. Brook noted with interest that the touch, though it didn't seem to have had any physical effect, brought an unconscious smile to the swordsman's face.

Zoro looked up and caught Brook staring. "Is something the matter?" he asked curiously.

Brook gave him a smile and shook his head, standing up. "I was just admiring your swords. It's truly beautiful, that white one of yours. A fine sword."

"Ah…" Zoro ran his hand lovingly over Wado Ichimonji. "She's my treasure."

And Brook smiled, knowing now that Zoro wasn't only referring to the physical sword.

What Zoro truly treasured, was everything that the sword represented. His dream, and the girl who lead him to that dream. That was what gave him strength to walk forward.

And it was that drive that pushed Zoro to be better than Brook, better than Mihawk, better than anyone else. It was what Brook knew would allow Zoro to someday become the World's Greatest Swordsman.

For himself, and for her.

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**_Loved it? Disliked it? Don't quite know what to make of it? In any case, please review! Constructive criticism is welcome. :)_**

**_Also do check out my other fics and the One Piece fanfiction poll I have on my profile. Much appreciated!_**


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